


The Ring Bearer

by diealittlebetter



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hydra, Kickass agents, Major Original Characters - Freeform, Original Character(s), SHIELD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-02-27 04:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2678495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diealittlebetter/pseuds/diealittlebetter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Parker Goodwin wants nothing more than to stay with the CIA, but when she's lent out to work for S.H.I.E.L.D she learns that her life isn't what she believed it to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"It's ok honey," Grant Goodwin hushed his crying daughter as loud bangs echoed from downstairs. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, little fists curling tightly onto his faded grey t-shirt with a Stark logo emblazoned on the front.

"Daddy I'm scared," the little girl whimpered as her father opened the door to her closet and revealed a small hole just big enough to hold a young child. Her tears were just starting to create a wet spot on the left shoulder of his shirt when the man adjusted her in his arms so he could study her face one more time. 

"I know honey but you're going to be okay," Grant kissed his daughters forehead before gently placing her into the hiding place. Tears continued streaming down her face as she reached out for his hands. 

"Daddy don't go!" She cried out, about to get out of the spot and cling to her father. A particularly loud crash could be heard from downstairs, quickly followed by a rain of gunfire. The little girl retreated back into the spot, tiny hands covering her tiny ears from the loud scary noises. Her big grey blue eyes were full of tears and were locked onto her father's identical pair, her trembling bottom lip begging him not to leave her here alone. 

"Honey I have to! Know that me and your mother love you so very much." Grant tried to frantically sooth his daughter as voices started shouting in a foreign language, and heavy footfalls echoed off the wooden stairs. "Be quiet for a while okay? And keep these safe for me, alright?" Grant handed her a sealed envelope before draping a beautiful gold necklace with a gold ring on it around her neck. 

One last lingering kiss was placed to Parker's forehead before her old life went dark and loudly died. The quiet sobs of a six year old undistinguishable amid the loud uproar going on outside her little hiding spot.


	2. Chapter 2

"Director Panetta" Agent Parker Goodwin was reclining comfortably in the large black leather chair that sat behind the grand oak desk that occupied most of the directors large office. Her boot clad feet were crossed in the center and she was looking at a picture of Panetta's family while eating a small candy from a drawer to her left. "I heard you needed to see me when I got back in." 

The older man drew in a deep breath of shock as he flicked on the lights to his office, his eyes wide as he looked for any signs of a break in. "Indeed I did Goodwin." He coughed and tried to regain his composer, of course there was no trace that the agent in his chair had broken into his office, she was a professional. "Although could you be a normal agent just once and wait for me to let you into my office?" Agent Goodwin finally looked up and set the picture down, her eyes lighting up with mischief as she smirked teasingly. 

"Now where's the fun in that director?" Parker took her feet off the desk and stood up, switching sides with Panetta, allowing him to take his rightful place in the directors chair as she stood in front of the desk with her hands clasped tightly behind her back, opting to stand rather than sit in one of the highly uncomfortable tacky red suede chairs in front of the desk. "I merely arrived back approximately 25 minutes ago and didn't want to head back to my apartment just to come right back here." Which was a lie, not that Panetta could tell. Parker always went straight home after every mission if only for a minute or two, but her dear director didn't need to know she just wanted to eat all his candy and scare the hell out of him for sending her to Peru on such short notice. 

"The airport is an hour drive from here." Panetta gave Parker a tired look, knowing her answer long before she gave it. Why he was still surprised is a mystery to them both. 

"Only if you go the speed limit."

"While you maybe exempt from-"

"-from international laws you still need to abide by the ones set here," Parker sighed as she recited the line she'd been hearing long before she could remember. Her lips were pursed as she waited to be lectured, honestly if this was why she was called in she might as well sit because it was going to take a while. 

"If you know this rule so well why are you so hell bent on breaking it?" Panetta leaned forward in his seat arms crossed on the desk, the look of disapproval one Parker was used to seeing in this office. Though the man behind the desk giving the lecture was ever changing, the sermon they preached was always the same. 

"Because being pulled over is my favorite pastime." Parker answered truthfully. A small smirk playing on her lips. The way the cops floundered when she pulled out her own badge and claimed she was on an "important earth saving mission" simply made her day. 

"I'm passing you on," Panetta said abruptly after a small lull. Parker blinked a few times before regaining her focus and looking at Panetta who had taken his hands off the desk and folded them across his chest looking, dare she say, uncomfortable. 

"Fired already?" Parker asked feigning surprise. Honestly Panette had lasted longer than anyone had expected, except for some new analyst who didn't know any better and had won the betting, lucky bastard. 

"No, actually. You'll be working for another agency-"

"I'm sorry sir? I don't think you understand-" Parker tried interrupting. Her eyes widened in shock and she took a few steps forward as her hands came from behind her back and fell to her sides. She knew she was a royal pain in the ass but she was a damn good agent. 

"I understand perfectly well." Director Panetta firmly retook ahold of the conversation, giving Parker a hard glance not unlike one you'd give to a screaming child. "But you are being lent to another agency. It's in everyone's current best interest to make this move."

"Everyone? Who is everyone? Because everyone sure as hell doesn't include me!" Parker's voice was rising steadily, if Panetta was going to look at and treat her like a child throwing a tantrum then that's the way she would act. 

"That's just it Agent Goodwin! In order for you to keep growing as an agent you need to keep broadening your horizons."

Parker breathed heavily, waiting for her blood to cool before asking, "How long?"

Panette once again looked uncomfortable at Parker's clipped question. Most of Parker's assignment lengths were determined by how fast she could get the information and get out, very few required any actual amount of time. She could usually blow through three or four assignments by the time another agent started their first. 

"How long Panetta?" Parker's voice started growing cold and her arms crossed with hostility. The murder in her eyes was clear, and the CIA director knew he was treading in very dangerous territory. 

"Well the thing is-" Parker's glare become more intense as her director stuttered, her eyes becoming less blue and more steely grey. "I'm not exactly sure, but-"

"But?"

"But he made it seem like it would be around... a year."

"A year?!"

"It's not a tough assignment really-"

"Then why can't they put one of their agents on it?!"

"Because all of their high ranking agents are busy." Panetta finally seemed to gain a little confidence as he dismissed Agent Goodwin, "This is the end of the discussion Agent Goodwin. You're plane leaves at 0200, pack for a year. We'll keep in touch."

Parker knew the dismissal was final. She could say nothing to change his mind. She turned sharply on her heel, her angry stomps absorbed by the dark grey carpets. Her hand was on the doorknob to leave when her curiosity got the best of her. "What agency?"

"It's called S.H.I.E.L.D."


	3. Chapter 3

Parker's apartment was rather bare. The walls held pictures only of places she's been, none with her in them. The living room had an old worn in light green couch with two small blue throw pillows, a leather recliner with a few rips that were covered by a fraying black blanket, and a scratched up coffee table with only one coaster and an old coke on it. The bathroom was spotless, Parker only owned two towels and all of her toiletries were in her travel bag, where they always were- where everything always was. Parker never had time to unpack them. The kitchen was full of paper plates and plastic utensils, and there was no telling if the fridge even contained anything edible. 

The only place in the apartment Parker's true self could be seen was her bedroom. The large king bed took up more than half of the room, the fluffy green duvet flung half-on and half-off, revealing black sheets that were just as twisted from all the scrambling Parker did in her sleep. The bedside table held a plain black alarm clock, and a few water bottles holding various amounts of water. The closet doors were slightly opened, showing off flashy gowns from old missions and an old light brown dresser that held her street clothes.

Parker angrily threw her black duffle bag on her bed and unzipped it. The few sets of clothes inside were quickly tossed into a corner where a mountain of dirty laundry was piling up. She stormed over to the closet and wrenched out her practically new luggage set. Panetta had never specified what her mission was going to be, just that she would be gone for a year. An entire fucking year. 

Parker stood seething in front of the empty suitcase. Seconds, then minutes passed as Parker stared at the light tan inside of the empty suitcase as if she could glare it into changing her fate. But as the minutes went on she just began to feel numb. She had never known anything except this. The CIA was the only place she could call home. And now it was being ripped away from her so she could go help some other agency with something that was sure to be trivial. Parker drew in a deep breath before letting it out in a rush. A tear was about to escape her eye before she blinked rapidly and rubbed it away with the heel of her hand. 

"Agents don't cry unless the mission calls for it," Parker muttered to herself, walking dejectedly over to her dresser and opening the top drawer. If she wasn't coming back for a year she might as well pack everything. Ball gowns and sweatpants, high heels and sneakers, everything in her closet was folded neatly and placed in a suitcase. But even with her closet emptied out Parker knew there was still way too much empty space in her luggage. 

"Looks like I'll actually have to do laundry." Parker frowned. Parker only did laundry about twice a year, once during the CIA Christmas party so she'd have an excuse not to go, and once during her birthday so she'd have something to take her mind off the fact no one remembered, and even then sometimes she was on missions. However, today looked like the day she'd actually have to go and do laundry simply because she had to do laundry. This mission was already starting off horribly. 

As the first load was running through the cycle, Parker finished packing the rest of her things. Surely she'd need blankets and heaven forbid she have to survive without her favorite coffee mug she picked up her first visit to France. She walked around her apartment playing eeny meey miny moe with all her stuff deciding on if it stayed or if it got packed. Before her last load was finished almost all of Parker's apartment was tucked neatly into three pieces of Caribbean blue luggage with space to spare. 

Only the drawer of her nightstand remained unpacked, Parker debating on if she could live without it for a year. When she decided she couldn't Parker got on her knees and dug a key out from under her mattress and unlocked the small drawer. It only contained a few small items that to anyone else just looked like clutter, but to Parker it was her whole world. Item one was an old photo booklet, the kind you could buy for a dollar that would hold about 20 pictures. It was full of vibrant photos of a small family doing cute small family things. Item two was a letter, opened and closed to the point where it was ripping in some places, and it had tear stains on parts of it, but the writing was still legible, and even if it wasn't Parker knew it by heart. And lastly was an old ring, pure gold with a small cheap looking purple stone in the middle of it, it was hung on a simple gold chain and was breath taking to look at. Parker placed all three items into her carry on, not trusting the airports not to loose her luggage. 

Parker just finished zipping up two of the suitcases when the dryer signaled it was done with her last load. It took about ten minutes to finish stuffing the clothes into the last bag and she was packed. The apartment was practically bare, well more bare than usual. Just a few items showed that it was actually in use. 

The grilled cheese sandwich emptied out Parker's pantry and gave her something to do while she waited to leave. She sat curled up on her couch and took small bites of the small sandwich. The couch creaked softly as Parker adjusted her position and leaned against the arm rest. The couch was the one thing Parker wanted to take but just couldn't. It was the one thing besides her bedside drawer she had inherited from her parents, and it was going to get left behind... Agents don't cry unless the mission calls for it, the mantra played softly in the back of Parker's mind as she finished the last few bites of her sandwich 

The seams of her pants doubled as a napkin as Parker wiped her hands of the crumbs and residue from her sandwich, standing quickly to get off the couch and out of the apartment. If she stayed another minute she would break down and never leave. No last lingering looks were spared as Parker gathered all of her bags and left her home. Even after locking the door she simply placed her key on top of the doorframe. It would just be one more reminder of a life she couldn't have for a whole year. Besides, there wasn't a whole lot left for anyone to steal, and she would just track them down later if they tried.

The ride to the airport was quick. Parker had "borrowed" an agency car meaning she could push 120 down the freeway and no one would look twice. It also helped that it was only one in the morning. There was still a half hour left until her flight when Parker got her bags from the car and walked inside with fast strides to get out of the rain that was starting to fall softly. 

Panetta was going to be pissed when he had to track down the car, and it was either going to be towed since Parker left it sitting right at the curb, or it was going to be stolen since the keys were sitting innocently on the middle console. Better yet someone might think the CIA was trying to plant a bomb at the airport. A smirk graced Parker's lips at that last thought, if Panetta was going to put her in hell she sure as fuck wasn't going alone.


	4. Chapter 4

Parker sat rigidly, the cold metal bench not warming up even though she'd been sitting there for at least an hour and a half. Her eyebrows were scrunched in anger, her nostrils flared with every ragged intake of breath, and her mouth was pressed tightly together. 

The crowded airport danced in and out of her focus as her mind raced. After a horrible flight that contained not one but two screaming children Parker found that her luggage had been damaged during the flight. She was angry at that point, but what really set her off was the fact that when she stepped off the overcrowded escalator there was not a soul there to welcome her. No one from this mockery of a government agency was there to get her out of this hell hole of an airport. 

So that's where she stayed, sitting on a cold, hard, metal bench as people raced around her. People who knew exactly where they were going and why they were going there. A fucking luxury in Parker's opinion. The automated "Welcome to LaGuardia airport. Don't leave bags unattended.." message played for the 15th time causing Parker's fists to clench and her eyes to twitch. A. Fucking. Luxury. 

Another hour of sitting and staring passed before a man about a half a foot taller than Parker sat to her left a good distance away. Parker turned to tell him off for sitting next to her, but her face melted into a neutral expression as she took in his black suit, receding light brown hairline, and darkly tinted sunglasses. 

"Are you fucking kidding?" Parker spat out, her calm expression fading into the rage she felt inside as the man turned to face her, a small smile pulling up his thin pink lips. "You're the agency I'm working for?"

"Afraid so," the man answered. "Sorry I'm late, we got a call from your director saying your flight was delayed and you weren't going to be a priority for a while."

"Fucking Panetta can't take a joke," Parker muttered. She should have known, the 17 missed calls should have given her a clue to the extent of his anger, she usually only got 9. 

"A joke? From what I heard your little prank almost resulted in a national crisis." The smile was still playing on the edges of the mans lips. Parker would rather he be mad at her insubordination than be amused by her situation. 

"Yeah well now that I know I got stuck with you I wish I had done worse." Parker sat back against the bench. Perfect just the people she wanted to spend a year with. Hell, she'd rather be sent to the FBI. 

"I'm wounded," the man joked the left side of his mouth lifting even more. "But as hurt as I am I'm still willing to give you a lift back to base. Grab your bags." 

Parker opened her mouth to retaliate when the man walked off, not even bothering to wait for Parker to get her bags. Her mouth shut quickly as she grabbed her broken luggage and started to follow the man in the black suit.

"You know I'm still mad at you guys," Parker informed him as she caught up to him, trying to keep up with his longer strides. His brisk walk was hard to keep up with as Parker's bags continuously ran into other people. He didn't seem to hear her as he continued on his path to a parking garage. 

"For being late? I think your own director is more to blame." The playful reply caused a snort to erupt from Parker's nose. He walked into the parking garage, and as much as he was getting on Parker's nerves parking garages gave her the creeps. Even being one of the top agents in the world, she stayed close to the SHIELD agent, afraid of what could be lurking in the dark corners of the structure. 

"No, not for being late," a black SUV's lights flashed a few rows over as the man unlocked it with a simple pair of car keys. The back hatch opened and Parker piled her luggage in the trunk as the man went and started the car. She opened the passenger side door, tempted to hit the car next to them, and slid in. As soon as the door was closed the man started backing out. "I'm still pissed about Budapest." 

"Oh Goodwin," the man sighed rolling to a stop at the gate to pay the attendant who had been dozing off at the exit to the parking garage. "You know we had no control over that."

"You had no control?" Parker started, her tone incredulous as she turned her entire body to face the man. "You sent in two of your agents to kill me, ruined an operation that had taken the CIA four YEARS to set up, and you compromised the entire security of the United States. How exactly did you not have control?" 

"We had false intel. Had the CIA given the proper information to all the agencies-"

"We gave information to agencies that needed to know. You guys didn't even have a real name then," Parker snapped. Silence ensued for a minute as Parker calmed herself enough to snidely ask, "What happened to the name anyway? Stupid homicidal idiots fucking shit up or something like that right?"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division," the man rattled off like he had done it a million times. 

"Yeah," Parker breathed righting herself in her seat once again. "That."

"We borrowed a tip from you guys. Shortened it, acronyms are much easier to say."

"And remember," Parker muttered looking out the window as lights blurred past. 

A silence engulfed the SUV after that. It wasn't awkward per se but it definitely didn't have the feel of two old pals lounging about. Parker would sigh occasionally as she memorized the turns, looking at street signs, making mental notes of landmarks and buildings. The traffic wasn't as bad as she expected, but she was still surprised when only 36 minutes later they pulled in front of an old antique store with a dim light shining inside. 

"Fancy," Parker muttered sarcastically as she hopped out of the car after the man. He didn't say anything, simply opened the front door and allowed Parker to enter first, apparently luggage wasn't required. The faint ring of the bell alerted the older women who sat behind the desk to turn around and welcome the two agents. She looked to be in her late 60's and was wearing a hideous brown floral dress. Parker watched her in confusion. Why was she being introduced to this lady? If she got stuck working at an old antique shop someone (Panetta) was going to die. 

The woman gave Parker a smile before she turned her attention to the man standing near the door. Parker watched intrigued as the man simply nodded his head and the old women smiled again, moved her hand to below the counter and the entire wall behind her opened up.

Parker's eyebrows shoot up in awe. "Oh hell, it is fancy."

"Thank you," the man said, to whom Parker wasn't sure, as he passed Parker and the old women, and started walking down the well lit metal hallway that wasn't there a second ago. 

Parker stared in wonder for a second or two more before following, looking back as the door closed and the old women was blocked from sight. 

The pairs footsteps echoed softly against the metal walls, the only sound that seemed to generate from the hidden headquarters. Parker was so lost in her observing of the walls that she almost didn't notice the man take a sharp left and start walking down another impossibly long hall. 

"Hey! Where are we going?" Parker asked as she took a few hasty steps to catch up, but her question fell on deaf ears as the man she was following of her stopped in front a plain door. There were no signs, no plaque to indicate what laid behind the door, not even some Braille. So Parker gave a weary look as the man opened the door and walked into a large office. 

"Welcome back Agent Coulson," a dark skinned man with an eyepatch on his left eye greeted the man that had brought Parker here. His smile was bright white and sent a chill down Parker's back, but his next words were what really got to her, "And look you got the Ring Bearer."


	5. Chapter 5

"Welcome to SHIELD Ring Bearer," the man laughed at the unamused look on Parker's face. "We've been trying to get you for a while. None of your old directors would give you up. I'm starting to respect that new one. What's his name, Panera?"

"Fuck you. And fuck Panetta," Parker spat. Her eyes were blazing at the man before her. No one had called her that name for a very long time and there was a very good reason for it, sadly the man in front of her either didn't know, or more likely didn't care. 

"Agent I would highly recommend you not piss me off," the man stood, straightening his black trench coat and pushing a manila folder across his desk towards Parker, his tone and attitude had taken a quick 180. "You work for me now. And I know you don't like it but that's how it is. I don't know how much your director told you but I'll tell you right now, this is for your own good, so suck it the fuck up."

Parker's steel blue eyes narrowed as they glared into the mans one visible brown eye. She let out a huff of air after a few seconds of intense staring. The man studied her as she reached for the folder that had her name written neatly in the top right hand corner. She flipped through it seeing lots of tiny print and even catching sight of a few complicated equations. 

"What is this?" Parker asked after a minute or two of light skimming. Her eyes flickered between the two men. At this point she couldn't determine who would be more helpful. Hell, neither one had even introduced themselves yet. 

"Your assignment," the man with the eyepatch had sat back down at some point during her reading and was steepling his fingers as he studied her. "And it's not a what so much as a who."

"Who?" Parker asked as her left eyebrow shot up. This agency had plenty of assassins. Skilled ones. Assassins that put most of her own agency to shame if she was going to be being honest, which she wasn't. "Why do you need me to kill someone? Isn't that like, your thing?" 

"Not killing," the man said a sadistic smile that made Parker's stomach churn was starting to spread across his face. The other man was simply standing off to the side, the small smile still tugging at his lips, Parker only spared him a look before she turned her attention back to her new boss. 

"I'm not a tracker, you got the wrong agent," Parker said in poorly concealed happiness. Now she could go back to the CIA, and pretend this little stunt never happened. If they needed a tracker they should have a requested agent Dona-

"Not tracking agent Goodwin," the small smile had spread into a shit eating grin, and that grin had escalated to light chuckling. Parker's blood ran cold at the sound, she should have known she wouldn't get out of it this easily. "You're going to be, for all intents and purposes, a babysitter." 

That's when then laughter started, full blown laughter. When Parker literally dropped the file onto the cool sleek black tiled floor of the office, it's contents spilling out onto the polished ground. She could hear the blood pumping in her ears. In fact, that's all she could hear. The laughter was drowned out by the ocean of blood storming inside of her as her stomach flipped violently and her brain started to numb as if a fog was rolling over it. She swallowed thickly, trying to open her mouth but not quite knowing if she succeeded. 

"Sir?" She whispered when she finally got a grip on reality enough to croak out a response that was much more polite than the words peaking out of the fog in her shocked mind. Her eyes focused in again as she blinked rapidly to look at her torturer. 

"You heard right Parker," the absolute glee that shown on the mans face was unnerving. The fact that the director of a government agency meant to protect people could take such pleasure from someone's misery was sickening. "You are to live with her, you are to do background checks on everyone she comes into contact with, you are to make sure that no harm comes to her, and above all you are to make sure no one gets too close. She can not be taken, ensure this with your life."

"Why me?" Plenty of questions swam through Parker's mind but that one managed to escape her mouth first. The agency had more than enough agents, ones that weren't above babysitting some girl for a year. 

"Because you're not known. All the enemies that are out to get this girl are expecting one of our agents."

"How? How do they possibly know all of your agents? What kind of a joke of an agency do you run?" Parker was fuming. She was going to risk her life for some girl who probably didn't mean a damn thing to the world because the agency she would be working for couldn't handle their shit? No. She refused to put herself in a situation where she could be discovered. Not again. 

"Unlike the CIA who plays around with small unorganized terrorist cells that don't know left from right," the man had not only stood back up, but had come to stand in front of Parker, only a few feet away. His black shoes were sitting on top of the papers that had fallen out of the file and had scattered about the floor, the poor papers getting ripped and crumbled with his careless and angry footsteps. She could feel the anger rolling off of the man in waves. She knew what she said had been harsh, but she was never one to censor the truth. "This agency deals with real threats. Ones that agencies like yours can't handle. Threats that could level the universe, not just the tri-state area."

"So how do they know all your agents?" He still hadn't answered her question, and she was determined to know before she signed up for a babysitting job. Even though she had dedicated her life to keeping people safe, she wasn't willing to go in blind for an agency she didn't trust. She wasn't that stupid.

"Our threats aren't amateurs. They have connections. They have intelligence. They have the ability to find out anything about anyone, including our agents."

"So what about me? Why can't they just do the same thing to find out about me?" 

"Because you aren't ours. Since you belong to a different agency they can't touch your files. It helps that we haven't made any trades with the CIA that would hint to your help. Your files are nowhere near here. You'll be safe. Now all we need is for you to keep her safe."

The look in the mans eyes was hard. Parker swallowed loudly. She knew whatever she said would change everything. She could feel it in her bones, and her feelings had never been wrong before. But underneath that layer of what she hoped was good Parker could feel another layer buzzing underneath the surface. The only question was would it be worth it? Would risking her life for an agency that almost killed her be worth protecting some girl?

"Do I at least get to know what makes her so special?" 

"Have you ever heard of Project Rebirth?"


	6. Chapter 6

"What in the hell Project Rebirth?" Parker asked, all malice had left her voice, only pure curiosity. She had accepted her fate and was almost starting to welcome it. 

"Back during World War II the world was facing a pretty big threat-" the man started motioning for Parker to take a seat in the sleek black chair in from of his desk. However, before he could get further into his story the man who had escorted Parker to the headquarters interrupted by softly clearing his throat. To be honest, Parker had almost forgotten he was there. 

"Sir. If you'll excuse me I believe Romanoff and Barton are back." The man with the eye patch gave a curt nod excusing him, not even sparing the man a glance as he once again sat down in his black leather chair. The man walked to the door before turning to Parker. "It was nice to meet you again agent Goodwin."

"You never even told me your name," Parker muttered under her breath but he somehow heard as his small smile only grew. 

"It's Coulson, and we'll be seeing each other a lot so I'll see you soon," and with that Coulson was gone, carefully closing the office door, leaving only Parker and the dark skinned man. 

"Speaking of introductions," Parker said raising an eyebrow and looking back to her new boss. 

"It's Director Fury," he answered swiftly and simply, eager to continue his monologue. 

"How fitting," Parker commented a sarcastic smile lifting her lips. Even though she was still weary of the organization she would be working for Parker could feel herself starting to warm up to them. She was trying to convince herself that it was because she had to, but deep down she knew it probably had something to do with the fact that they actually answered her questions, albeit slowly, unlike the CIA. 

"As I was saying... Back during World War II the world was facing a threat, and before you interrupt I'm not talking about Hitler." Parker's jaw quickly shut as she swallowed her witty remark. "It was a nazi organization that went rogue. A science agency that called itself HYDRA. It's leader was a madman by the name of Johann Schmidt, also known as The Red Skull, an experiment gone wrong. They formed a special team to take Schmidt down; The Howling Commandos and-"

"And Captain America," Parker whispered trying to piece together what America's hero had to do with her mission. She had heard stories of Captain America, everyone had, hell he had his own section in her American history textbook her junior year. 

"And Captain America," Fury confirmed. His eyes had wondered off of Parker and were staring at the glossy surface of his desk deep in thought. "But Captain America wasn't always Captain America. He was originally a scrawny little kid from Brooklyn. Project Rebirth is what changed him. A German scientist, Abraham Erskine, created a formula to make the perfect soldier. It enhanced every aspect of the person, from physical traits to personality traits. That's what was wrong with Schmidt, he might have been stronger but he also got meaner, more evil. Erskine personally picked Rogers to be the first test subject in Project Rebirth. And it's a damned good thing he did. As soon as the experiment was complete HYDRA killed Erskine and all the chances to recreate the serum were lost when the HYDRA agent destroyed the remaining serum."

"So HYDRA was after the perfect soldier? It was the same as Hitler? Everyone was just trying to create the perfect race?" 

"Not a race," Fury clarified. "Just the perfect soldier."

"And this Erskine guy, he was on our side?"

"No doubt. He did everything in his power to help the cause. He had seen the horrors of Nazi Germany first hand, and he risked his life to stop it." Fury took a deep breath and looked up into Parker's eye with a blazing intensity. "That's where you come in. Erskine secretly had part of the formula hidden. Hidden in a place no one would suspect."

"I thought I wasn't tracking?"

"You're not. You're babysitting the only link we have to recreating the super soldier serum." 

"I'm sorry?" Parker was rather smart if she said so herself, but she couldn't quite seem to connect what the man in front of her was saying. 

"Erskine hid part of the formula in his family. Those equations from the file? They're coursing through that girls veins. He secretly injected his children with the serum predicting something could go wrong and it would be lost forever. Thankfully that serum was passed down and is now residing in his great granddaughters bloodstream. She's his only surviving blood relative left."

"So I'll be protecting a serum?"

"You'll be protecting the only hope we have of recreating the serum. It's not a complete equation, Erskine knew if he injected his family with the full formula they'd be government property and with the way the war was going he wasn't willing to risk it."

"And other people know about her?"

"We're hoping not but we can't risk it. If she falls into the wrong hands the world will be faced with a war we'd have no prayer of winning."

"So defend her with my life?" Parker was shocked. Mrs. Foster hadn't covered this in AP American History class, not all the technicalities. Before this meeting the most Parker knew was that Captain America was a war hero. That was it. But now. Now there was a story, a truth. It was all swimming through Parker's head as it slowly started to absorb into her brain.

"With your life agent. This serum is more important than any of us."

"But what about the girls it's in? What's she like? What's her name? Does she know she's got the serum?" Parker was fully on board for protecting the serum, for protecting humanity. But still a year with a spoiled brat and the girl might be murdered by Parker herself. Plus Parker was never really good with people, she had never had a close relationship with a single person her entire life- not since that day. 

"She's a sweet girl. Smart as Erskine himself. However, she doesn't know about the serum, she also won't know you're trying to protect her so you have to play nice. If she doesn't trust you, she won't stick around for you to protect her. Remember agent, she's the key, you have to do everything in your power to keep her safe."

Parker took a deep breath. If she thought the assignment was hard before she was dumb struck now. How was she supposed to help someone who didn't think they needed it? She prayed to God that she didn't fuck this up.

"So when do I start?"

"You meet your assignment in four hours."


End file.
